This page contains many of the books I enjoyed reading, along with (somewhat snarky) mini-reviews.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
A gripping tale of lies and deceipt in Silicon Valley. I found this book hard to put down.
A Short Stay in Hell
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
This book is basically Buddhism for millenials. I will let you decide whether that is good or bad.
What Happened
"What Happened" is that HRC wrote a moving memoir about the 2016 election. Also James Comey was there.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Simultaneously the best and most terrifying nonfiction book I read in 2018. An experienced sleep scientist explains the ins and outs of sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation on human health.
New Views: The World Mapped Like Never Before: 50 maps of our physical, cultural and political world
Beautiful maps and interesting stats, a great coffee table book.
American Gods
Somewhere between Harry Potter and The Stranger: an apathetic protagonist discovers our world is governed by hidden magical forces. But unlike Harry Potter and The Stranger, I found myself nearly as apathetic as the character.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Really good management advice. I'll refer back to this one often when I start another company.
The Stand
I picked up a bad cold a few days ago, and spent most of yesterday in bed. Having just finished The Stand, this was very worrying! It is really easy to forget that this is just a very good book. But since this morning I feel a lot better, phew. I guess I had nothing to be worried about aftera
Never Let Me Go
If you have not read any of Kazuo Ishiguro's works, start with Never Let Me Go. Beautiful, nostalgic, haunting.
The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and the Laws of Physics
This is no ordinary popular science book. An excellent tour through the philosophy of mind, with detours through algorithms, mathematics, philosophy, cosmology, classical and quantum physics, cognitive science and even some biology. Penrose argues against "Strong AI", and he did not ultimately convince me of his standpoint, but it was a fascinating read all the way through.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
As a modern reader, the little mathematical insight imparted by Flatland seems only barely worth enduring the narrative.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
A guided tour through mathematics, art, music and the philosophy of mind. I only wish there were more books like this one.
Station Eleven
Post-apocalyptic drama with some forgettable characters whose lives intertwine in forgettable ways.
Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern
Metamagical Themas is as good as this sentence says it is.
Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Foundation
A very theoretical approach to neural networks. I enjoyed it, but it requires at least an undergraduate degree level-understanding of mathematics. if you are a programmer who is simply NN-curious and this is the first book you pick up, God help you.